Getting rid of Windows

[Pedro_The_Swift]

on an added in HDD,,

Just built a freebie to replace an old xp machine, the elderly couple want to keep their HDD, fair enough but the new one has an ssd with win 10 (which is the reason for the update,, that and the celeron cpu... )
The question is how do I delete XP on the 2nd HDD?

[JDNSW]

I,m not a Windows expert, but if the HD is set up as a second disk, and it is booting from the SSD, is there any need to remove anything? The disc is bootable, but the computer will not even get as far as looking at the boot sector on it, as it will boot from the SSD, assuming this is set as the first boot device. The XP files on it can be simply deleted or just left there as waste space.

Maybe someone who is more familiar with Windows can say if there is a problem I have not seen.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

yes John,, I'm sure I can choose to boot from the SSD,, but will windows just let me delete windows? (space concerns on the HDD)
Win 10 needs a signed confession from your mother just to install a screensaver.. [bigrolf]

[p38arover]

I've never had any issues with Win 10. You should be able to delete XP.

Did you do an upgrade from XP to Win 10? If so, Win 10 should offer to let you delete the old Win XP install

[16PMark]

Is Linux an option?
Can download an ISO of the latest Linux (Ubuntu, Mint etc etc), then create a startup/bootable USB or disc, tell bios to boot from that, then, once booted from that, format the drive as the install instructions suggest...
Windows gone, basic Linux install created.
(Depending on what ya choose whilst installing)
That will leave an almost empty storage space that will allow storage of music or pics, doc's etc that can still be accessed if/when needed.....

[Pedro_The_Swift]

[bigrolf]
No,, Linux is not an option,, [smilebigeye]
Shirley decorates cakes like Ian Callum designs cars,, at 75 she is not interested in learning new ways to search google... [smilebigeye]

[16PMark]

[bigrolf]
No,, Linux is not an option,, [smilebigeye]
Shirley decorates cakes like Ian Callum designs cars,, at 75 she is not interested in learning new ways to search google... [smilebigeye]I get what ya mean...
But just for the record, (for those playing at home) searching on Google is no different....
Just saying. [emoji41][emoji1783]

[speleomike]

Hi

Two options for deleting XP on the second drive.

First make sure it really is booting from the SSD and it doesn't need the second HD. Try to disconnect that 2nd HD and check it still boots. Just in case during the install that pesky Win10 still is reading stuff off the older HD.

Then you can either:

1. Login as an admin and just delete the XP files using the file manager. That will free up the space. But if XP is on a separate partition then you will need to access that space via some drive letter.

2. Backup the HD to a removable drive. Check the backup is OK.
Start a partition editor and clear the XP partition. Enlarge the 2nd HD data partition to take up all the space. That way the 2nd HD will be a accessed by a single drive letter.

Option 2 will give a cleaner new space. You can also do a fragment or if the backup is good do a reformat. Then install the backed up files.

Mike

[16PMark]

Hi speleomike
How do you log into windows as admin, and then delete the windows files that you used to login?
I'm not trying to be a dick or smartarse, I've just never been able to actually do that...???

[speleomike]

Hi speleomike
How do you log into windows as admin, and then delete the windows files that you used to login?
I'm not trying to be a dick or smartarse, I've just never been able to actually do that...???

As an admin (that user would have been setup when Win10 was installed) you should be able to delete the system files on the old HD. If not then use a partition editor to blow them away after backing up any user data. That's where a Linux live booted from a USB stick comes in handy. You can use its GUI partition editor to fix stuff up.

Can't offer much more technical advice on Win10. I have been able to avoid it at work as I use Linux at work and at home. I bought Win 1.0, then 3.0, 3.11 and XP was my last Windows. Have used Linux for the last few decades. I'm very happy :-)

Mike

[16PMark]

As an admin (that user would have been setup when Win10 was installed) you should be able to delete the system files on the old HD. If not then use a partition editor to blow them away after backing up any user data. That's where a Linux live booted from a USB stick comes in handy. You can use its GUI partition editor to fix stuff up.

Can't offer much more technical advice on Win10. I have been able to avoid it at work as I use Linux at work and at home. I bought Win 1.0, then 3.0, 3.11 and XP was my last Windows. Have used Linux for the last few decades. I'm very happy :-)

MikeAh, yes am with ya now. Yes Linux all the way.
Thanks.
Cheers.
[emoji1783]

[AK83]

@ Pedro. best way is to backup any files that the owner wants to keep, and reformat the 2nd HDD, and restore the backed up files.

@ 16PMark: you 'sort of' cant, but depends on which exact Windows files you want to delete. Some will be locked as they're in use, so you'll get a message saying so.
But if you're 100% sure you know what you're deleting(in those Windows files) .. then best way to remove as many as possible is either in safe mode, or use a bootable USB stick environment.

Safe mode(assuming only one operating system installed) = press F8 on bootup.
If you have Win10(running), you can also find the option to do so in Settings->Update Security->click the restart, when PC restarts go to Advanced Options->Start Up Settings restart and then there'll be an option for Safe Mode.

Bootable USB stick option is the more certain method of not getting the file locked/in use issue tho.
If you have a USB stick, Google a Bootable USB stick OS, they're usually a Linux OS, you need to set you PC to boot from the USB drive option in the BIOS, and instead of booting into Windows, you get another OS where you can browse and do stuff to the storage drive where Windows is located.
I'm pretty sure that Windows also still has the ability to create a bootable USB drive using Windows to achieve the same thing.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I should have a Hirens Boot disc somewhere,, that should do it,,,